Runaway
by Cynlee
Summary: Sometimes parents just don't understand, and Splinter is no different. Splinter still sees his children as children. The runaway in the title, however, is not one of the guys...
1. Chapter 1

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Hi! This is a piece I have up at my site. I thought I'd put it here and see if anyone liked it or not. I am fascinated with the other parts of the lives of the guys and Splinter-- the everyday, family boring stuff-- and I know that not everyone does. This piece, broken into three parts, is about parents who tend to still see their children as "children". There is no violence-- sorry. It's based mostly on the current series, and I also know that I probably keep spelling April's last name wrong-- but what the heck?

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TMNT and everyone who lives with them are the property of Mirage. I have offered to buy them, but so far my emails go unanswered...

It starts as a typical Raph and Mike fight.

As usual.

Michelangelo is getting on Raphael's nerves during a morning training session.

As usual.

And both are getting on Master Splinter's nerves.

As usual.

"I'm warnin' ya, Mikey..." Raph growls, as usual, as he is trying to balance on the bamboo poles while blindfolded, preparing to repel an attack by Splinter.

"You're looking very wobbly up there, Bro," Mike doesn't know when to quit-- as usual. "Klunk, don't get too close to that pole!" and he lightly knocks on one of the poles Raph is balancing on.

"Michelangelo!" Splinter reprimands him-- as usual-- but Mikey is in one of his playful moods-- as usual!

"Aww, I wouldn't really knock him down, Sensei," Mikey begins, and accidentally does what he just says he won't do-- as usual.

Raph attacks Mike at once, as usual, and Don and Leo are in the position of once again saving one brother from another-- as usual.

"Enough!" Splinter bellows-- which freezes all the action.

Not as usual.

The Turtles have heard him raise his voice before, but they haven't heard him be this loud except once before-- when he yelled at Bishop to "Keep away from my son!" when that madman was about to dissect Mikey.

"I have had enough of this behavior!" he continues, enraged as they have never seen him before. "You are both grounded!"

Now they look shocked for another reason-- grounded? Them? For this?

"How can you ground us, Sensei?" Raph wants to argue. "Grounded? That's a punishment for little kids!"

But Splinter is not to be swayed today.

"Both of you will go to your rooms now!" he insists.

"But Sensei, we're--" Mike also can't believe this. They usually do this kind of thing, but sent to their rooms for it? Grounded as if they were naughty turtle tots who were openly defiant?

This was just them being themselves.

"Master Splinter, perhaps they--" Leo tries, but Splinter turns on him as well, fire in his eyes.

"**You** are questioning me?"

"Well, no, Sensei-- well, that is--" Leo gulps.

"Your behavior is dishonorable!" he turns back to Raph and Mike. "Your fooling around and fighting is disruptive to your training and to the harmony of this family! You act as though the world is a place where you need not worry about anything, when you have no idea what lies out there! You must be prepared! How will you survive if you are not prepared? How will you survive once I am gone if your training is not complete?"

Splinter is looking more and more angry as he vents on these two. His words, however, are directed at all four, and they are puzzled.

After all, what happened happens all the time. Why is Sensei so upset?

"Sensei--" Don makes the mistake of trying to reason with him, but Splinter cuts him off, and steps closer to Raphael and Michelangelo.

He points to the upstairs, looking at all of them. He has never felt so angry at his sons.

"Rooms!"

"Sensei, we're not little kids anymore!" Raph protests loudly. "We've fought the Foot, battled and defeated Shredder, survived the Triceraton home world-- as well as the Triceraton invasion-- and several encounters with Bishop-- not to mention that Ultimate/Drako thing-- had close call after close call, and we've survived **without** your being around **several times**-- and you want to ground us for **this**?"

Splinter looks at each of the Turtles, shocked into speechlessness.

The words "...and we've survived **without** your being around **several times**..." are echoing in his ears.

"Uh, Sensei," Don says in the silence. "Raph has a point. You tend to-- uh, still see us as little turtle tots. Sometimes. We aren't helpless anymore."

Now he looks at each of his sons, eyes wide.

"Is-- is that the feeling of all of you?" Splinter asks quietly.

Mike nods.

And, after a minute, Leo agrees.

Without a word, Splinter turns and enters his own room.

And closes the door quietly and slowly.

The boys stand there for a few minutes, frozen and quiet.

"Do you think it's safe to move?" Mike finally breaks the silence.

"Look, Sensei sees that this is the truth," Raph says, more to convince himself than his brothers. "We're not little kids anymore. And he overreacted. He sees this."

"We're still his students," Leo points out. "And his sons."

"At what point do we become more?" Raph asks. "Are we always gonna be students?"

"Do we quit being sons?" Leo counters.

"Leo, you agreed with us," Don points out.

"Of course I agreed-- I just think-- we could have done it-- in a more grown-up way," Leo sighs, and he goes to his room.

Don goes to his work area, and Mike heads for the television.

Raph slouches by Splinter's door for a few minutes, and then stands straight and knocks on the door.

"Uh, Master Splinter? Sensei? May I please come in?"

No answer for a few minutes. Then Splinter opens the door.

"Yes, Raphael?"

"Sensei-- I want to apologize for raisin' my voice to you," he bows. "And for arguin' with you. I was disrespectful and wrong. Please forgive me."

"Apology accepted, Raphael. Now, if you will excuse me, I was just beginning my meditation," Splinter says, and he closes the door without another word.

This more than anything freaks Raph out.

"I'm tellin' ya, I apologized, but he is **mad**!" he says to Leo in Leo's room. "He called me 'Raphael', not 'my son' like he always does at times like that. I don't know what to do."

"Well, maybe we should all apologize," Leo muses. "Maybe we should give him a chance to cool down, and we all apologize."

"I thought I was doin' the right thing, apologizin' right away," Raph mutters. "I thought it would help."

"You did, Bro," Leo assures him. "You did better than the rest of us-- you apologized at once, while we went other places. And I'm sure it helped. Oh, well, even Splinter needs be allowed to be angry, I guess. Don't worry, he'll meditate, and calm down, and then we can all apologize."

"And maybe, once he's calm, we could discuss some changes perhaps?" Raph asks. "Like adults, not like brats?"

"Absolutely," Leo agrees. "We should state some of our concerns regarding his treatment of us as kids, and then listen to Sensei's concerns as well. That is the adult thing to do."

So the guys go about their daily routines, with an anxious eye on Sensei's door all day.

Splinter meditates all day, it seems.

He doesn't come out for lunch-- though Don tries to bring him some.

"No, thank-you, Donatello," he says through the closed door. "I am not hungry at the moment."

Don reacts the way Raph did.

"He called me 'Donatello', not 'my son' like he always does at times like that," he says, stunned, to the others.

Afternoon training time. The guys are waiting.

And waiting.

And waiting.

And finally, Leo nervously approaches the door of Splinter.

He knocks.

No answer.

"Master Splinter?" he says, hesitantly. "Sensei? We're-- we're ready for our training. Master Splinter?"

Finally the door opens, and Splinter is standing there, looking old and tired-- and cold.

"There is no need for training today, Leonardo" he says, walking past Leo and heading toward the door. "There is no need for further training. You are right, Raphael. You are all skilled enough. You can survive on your own. You have survived many trials and dangers without me. I was wrong to continue to treat you as mere students."

"Sensei!" Raph says, shocked and dismayed. "That was never what I said or meant!"

"No, but it is the truth," Splinter says, opening the door to the Lair. "I treat you as children, not as skilled warriors. I see that now. I am going out for a short time."

"What should we do, Sensei?" Leo asks, stunned.

"Whatever you decide, Leonardo," he says, leaving.

"I never-- I didn't--" Raph is nearly crying.

"We know, Raph," Don says, a hand on his shoulder, desperate to comfort his brother. "He's just still mad. Don't worry."

But they are worried.

They all register the fact that the two most precious words to them in their lives are painfully absent in his brief address to each of them: "my son".


	2. Chapter 2

_ I must take the time to thank Splinter for the kind words on chapter one! I get nervous and embarrassed at such comments, but I appreciate them greatly! I hope I don't disappoint later on. And it's safe to say that there will be learning going on-- on both sides of the "Generation Gap"! I also need to thank Reinbeauchaser as well (and I did what you said re: anon. enabling) for her equally moving comments, as well as Amberli Raven, Aaron Smiley (I wish I could, but I don't know how I'm doing it myself at the moment) and Doppleganger33 (yes, it is rather cold). Oh, yeah-- this story takes place before the story "Father's Day", btw. I hate bringing it up, but I need to say for my own peace of mind. _

_ Oh, yeah-- TMNT is the property of Mirage Publishing. Someday, though... the "what if" game is owned by all of us guilt-ridden children... _

At April's, Splinter makes sure it is safe to enter the store.

"Give me a minute, Master Splinter," April says, and quickly posts the "closed for inventory" sign.

"One of the advantages of owning my own business," she says, smiling. "I can set my own times."

Then she leads him up to her apartment, and they sit at the kitchen table.

"Can I get you any tea or anything?"

"No, thank-you, Ms. O'Neal. I am not here on a personal visit. I am looking to purchase a few items, and I need your assistance in doing so," he replies, and he pulls from inside his robe a list and some money. "One of the advantages of scavenging the sewers is there is a lot of lost money to be found."

April looks at the list, then at Splinter

"Are you going on a camping trip?"

"Yes-- I suppose so," he replies. "I need very little, but it would be nice to have a way to heat my water for tea and rice without the requirement of building a fire, or the need of electricity."

"I have a battery-operated camping stove you can borrow," she says, "and it is ready to go. These other supplies are not hard to get. But where are you going?"

"I have a desire to go away for a few days," he says sadly. "I need to go away for a few days and meditate."

"Is there anything wrong?"

Master Splinter sighs.

"What could be wrong when you live with four teenagers?"

April gets up, starts the tea kettle, sets out some snacks, and then tells Splinter she'll be back soon.

She takes the money, the list, and heads out for the store.

She returns shortly with his supplies, then gets the camping stove out for him and shows him how to work it.

"But where are you going? Is Casey taking you up to the farmhouse?" she asks.

"No, I will be in the sewers," he replies. "I have no desire to go anywhere above ground for this trip. But I am going alone, and do not wish the others to know where. I need to make this trip alone."

And he sighs again.

"I will not say more than that," he continues. "I would be grateful if you would assure anyone who asks after me that I am well, and will return in a few days. If anyone asks, that is." And he gets up to leave.

"**If** anyone asks? What happened? What did they do? Why are you leaving? Are you leaving now? What about the guys? What did they do?"

But Splinter merely thanks her for everything, collects his bundles, and makes his way back to the sewers.

April is unsure what to do. She thinks about it for a while, trying to decide what is the best course of action.

Since he didn't say not to, she finally calls Don.

"What did you guys do?" are the first words out of her mouth. Then she tells him of her visitor and his request.

"Yeah-- thanks, April," he says, then he turns to the brothers.

"I think Sensei is running away from home," he says.

"What?" three voices, in unison, echo in the Lair.

"Only a child runs away from home," Splinter interrupts, coming in with his supplies. "And as we all know, there are no children living here."

He goes into his room without another word.

After looking at each other for barely five seconds, they all enter Splinter's room without knocking, and they kneel down.

"Sensei, please, what is going on?" Leo takes the lead as usual.

Splinter is packing his supplies in a large backpack. He picks up his Rememberal, and carefully wraps it before putting it in the pack.

"I am going away for a few days to meditate," he says simply. "I will be back in a few days. That is all you need to know."

"But Sensei-- Sensei, please accept all our apologies for our behavior earlier today," Leo says, and they all bow before their master.

But Splinter is not interested.

"Do not apologize for what you feel," he says, finishing his packing. And he heads for the door without the usual admonition to stay in the Lair until his return, or that Leo is in charge.

"Uh, Sensei, we should stay in the Lair while you're gone, right?" Mikey prompts him, as they follow him out of his room.

"You are not children, Michelangelo" he replies. "Make your own decisions. I will be back in a few days."

And he is gone.

"Let's follow him," Raph immediately says.

"Yeah, Raph-- that's the adult thing to do," Don says sarcastically.

But Raph is not to be denied. He leaves the Lair almost behind Splinter-- and spends at least an hour trying to pick up Splinter's trail.

But Splinter is not in the mood to be followed as he was to the Nexus. He has vanished quickly and with no trace.

"Now what?" Raph asks when he returns, frustrated, to the Lair later.

"Good question," Leo says. "I wish I knew the answer."

"I guess we should just let him alone," Mike says, and they all look at him. "Well, haven't you guys ever wanted to be alone? I guess this is one of those times when Sensei wants to be alone."

And they stand there, feeling lost all of a sudden.

The rest of that day, that night, the next day and night, and the next day pass.

The guys pretty much do what they want-- yet they don't want to do much of anything.

Mike finds his video games and comics boring.

Don stares at his projects listlessly.

Raph puts little effort into his workouts.

And Leo's training runs tend to turn into long periods of serious meditation.

And they all play the "what if" game.

"What if something happens to him while he's gone, like someone snatches him, and we don't know? Like that hunter who was after Leatherhead-- or Bishop?" Mike mentions to his cat who is sleeping on his comics.

"What if he gets sick in the sewers alone? He's not as young as he used to be," Don worries over his computer-generated map of the tunnels. "Or what if there's an accident? He could be pinned under a cave-in."

"What if he runs into the Foot? Just because Karai has claimed a truce, that doesn't mean all of them agree to it," Raph imagines at the punching bag. "Or the Elite Guard? They don't exactly follow Karai! Or Hun? Or Bishop?"

"What if he never wants to come back?" Leo quietly asks at dinner the third night.

The others look shocked.

"I mean it. What if he's decided that we don't need him anymore? What if this so-called 'few days to meditate' is just a ruse to leave for good?"

"Leo, you have a seriously twisted imagination," Don says, shivering. "Sensei wouldn't just tell us he's going for a few days and then vanish for good. He would tell us straight out."

"Look, we should all have followed him at once, and begged him not to go," Raph says. "Let's find him and bring him home."

"Easier said than done," Mike points out. "You couldn't find his trail when he first left, and you're a great tracker."

"We gotta do something," Raph says angrily. "We gotta find him."

"I agree, but we just can't rush out and start searching," Leo says. "We need to plan a strategy for finding him. Like using the tracking devices Don has planted on all of us."

"No good," Don breaks the news to them. "I tried the first day-- he found the bug in his stick, and removed it. The same for the one in his robe."

"Let's get some stuff together and start searching!" Raph is growing angrier, thinking of all sorts of tragic things that could be happening to Splinter.

"Let's make a plan!" Leo counters.

The argument about how to go about finding Splinter continues. Mike and Don look at each other, and then they leave the Lair together.

"Let's go ask Leatherhead if he's seen Sensei since he left," Mike suggests.

"And we can call April and ask her what we should have asked the first day," Don agrees.

By the time Leo and Raph realize that their brothers are gone, they are back with news.

"April says that Sensei asked her to get enough supplies for several days," Don tells them. "And he borrowed her camping stove, so he will be coming back. I'm pretty sure he wouldn't borrow something if he has no plans on returning. And she said he planned on sticking to the sewers."

"Leatherhead saw him the day he left," Mike adds. "He stopped by and told him he was going away for a few days, but he'd be back to start L. H.'s meditation lessons next week. So maybe we should just wait."

"No, we've waited too long as it is," Leo says.

Raph agrees.

"We need to try to find Sensei now and make things right," Raph says. "Leo and I think we should start simple and start with the old Lair."

"But that place was completely destroyed by Stockman's bomb," Mike reminds them.

"It's as good a place as any to begin," Leo says. "We'll start first thing in the morning-- just in case he comes back late tonight, agreed?"

They all say yes, and they gather up supplies.

They decide that they will camp out until they find Splinter or return home empty-handed.

Early that morning, Leo leaves Sensei a note just in case he returns while they are looking for him.

"What did you write?" Mike wants to know.

"Well, I was tempted to just say we were out on a training run," Leo says, "but then I decided to just tell him the truth; that we are out looking for him so we can beg forgiveness and bring him home."

"Smart idea," Mike says seriously.

They make their long way to the old Lair.

But it looks as if no one has been around since the collapse.

They spend a good part of that day examining possible ways into the place. Around noon, Mike finds the way that Leatherhead must have used to escape through, but inside there is no trace of recent habitation.

"Kind of sad, seeing the old place," Mike says softly, looking at the remnants of familiar items that were unsalvageable when they first had to leave.

They slowly make their way out of the place, and try to plan their next destination goal.

They spend the day looking wherever they can think, but no trace of their Sensei can be found.

At every fresh-looking collapse or pile of rubble, their imaginations kick into overdrive.

At every dark tunnel that ends with a dark hole in the floor, their anxiety ramps up another notch.

They finally stop for the night, and each thinks dark thoughts until they all fall into uneasy sleep.

In the middle of the night, Leo wakes the others.

"I've got it! Master Splinter's original burrow! The place where he first took us when he found us. We should go look there!"

"Leo, do you even know where it is?" Don asks sleepily. "I mean, I barely remember the place, and I've helped with the maps."

"I went there with Sensei a few years ago, while we were inspecting the old tunnels," Leo says. "Why didn't I think of it sooner? Let's go now. It's quite a long ways from here, but we could be there well before sunrise."

They pack up and slowly make their way through old, dark, unfamiliar tunnels to a vaguely remembered first home.


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks, Llama! I appreciate the kind words! And thanks for visiting my site (you, too, Splinter!)!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are the property of Mirage-- 'Nuff said.

It is nostalgia that brings Splinter to this first place he lived on his own.

He looks around. He doesn't remember it being so small.

But then, he was very small himself when he first came here.

He looks in the direction of the tunnel that leads to the surface-- the surface near his old home, when he was a pet rat with his beloved Master Yoshi. He wonders briefly if he could go take a quick look-- then decides that it would not only be foolish, but dangerous as well.

"What would you think of my life, I wonder?" he muses, thinking of his master. "What advice would you give me if you could?"

He sighs, then makes the place as tidy and habitable as possible.

The old pipe where he slept is uninhabited-- no animals have been living here. He cleans it out, and finds it a tight fit but suitable for sitting in for meditation-- though it might be too cramped for sleeping in.

Camp is set up in no time.

He sits in the pipe, and starts to calm his spirit, starts to meditate in spite of the lateness of the day.

But all he can think of is four baby turtles tipping over the coffee can he'd placed them in; four baby turtles that suddenly looked bigger than the day before when he'd found them.

He opens his eyes and sighs in frustration.

He wants to meditate, not recall old memories.

He needs guidance for the future, not reminders of the past.

He needs guidance for the future, because the events of this morning have shown him that somewhere he is doing his sons more harm than good.

"I am not surprised they are growing up," he says to himself. "I did not think that I was treating them like children-- though they **are** children-- **my** children. My sons. Was I wrong to try to send them to their rooms this morning?"

And he tries to recall exactly why things unfolded the way they did today.

Perhaps he has no right to be angry, he thinks. Perhaps Raphael is right-- they are no longer children, and it wasn't fair to try to ground them for something as simple as what they'd done.

"I am getting old," he decides. "I am not fit to train them any more. They need no further training. They can survive on their own."

And he takes out his Rememberal and meditates on it.

And "visits" with his Master Yoshi.

He doesn't recall much of what passes in this meditation, until just before it ends.

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Training never ends, he thinks he hears as plain as day, and it startles him out of his trance.

He looks around for the source of the voice, on guard-- sniffing, listening, feeling.

It had sounded like Master Yoshi.

He calms down finally, realizing that it was just a trick of his imagination-- or else a voice in a vision during meditation.

He realizes it is late, so he heats up his water and prepares a simple meal of tea and rice, with fruit for afterwards. Then he sets various traps to warn him of intruders, and goes to sleep in the cramped pipe-- for old times sake.

He spends the next two days meditating, but his meditations bring no further enlightenment.

As a matter of fact, he finds that he is spending less and less time meditating and more and more time worrying about what is going on back home.

He envisions the kind of trouble Michelangelo and Raphael have probably gotten into through fighting.

He imagines Donatello blowing up various parts of the Lair-- mainly through the interference of Michelangelo, but still--

He pictures Leonardo trying to take his place as Sensei, causing friction among his brothers, and he quickly banishes that vision from his head as foolish. Leonardo would do his best to not cause friction.

Though, he does manage to get into his fair share of fights with Raphael...

Mainly over these types of situations...

Meditate, Splinter! Meditate! Calm yourself! They are not children!

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No, they are teenagers, which is worse.

Once again, Splinter is startled out of his meditation by the voice of his Master Yoshi.

He drinks several cups of green tea, and thinks about these two incidents.

Perhaps Master Yoshi is trying to contact him-- like he did regarding Shredder.

But why? This is just a family matter.

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Family, he hears in his head.

He makes up his mind. This will require the utmost concentration and energy.

He goes to bed, and prepares for the task at hand. He will need a lot of rest if he is to do this.

First light, he eats a light meal, arranges things in a specific manner, and then makes himself as comfortable as possible.

Holding the Rememberal, he goes into the deepest meditation trance that he has ever managed, all the time concentrating on three things: Master Yoshi, his sons, and family.

He spends many blank hours in his mind, concentrating on these things-- time is hard to judge when entering a deep trance.

Then he realizes he is in the middle of a conversation.

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It is quite simple, Splinter-san, he hears, as he sees his Master sitting across from him in some unknown place. _ They are still young, but they are feeling the restrictions more than ever. You know this as well as I do. They are no longer children, but they are far from adult. I think you acted a little childishly yourself._

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Yes, I agree, Sensei he responds. _ And I do tend to be overly protective of them. With just cause._

And through memory he gives examples of the many dangers that his sons have encountered and survived-- from their first encounter with the Foot to their battles with Shredder; from their squabbles with each other to the discovery of the Utroms and their unexpected voyage into space; from their battles with their Sensei to their battles with Triceratons, and Drako, and Bishop-- all of these things he shares with his Master Yoshi-- all that they have encountered and survived.

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Yes, my Splinter-- encountered and survived. Due to your training. Due to your upbringing. Due to your love. You will always be a parent to them. That is the way of the world. And they will challenge you and rebel against you-- that, too, is the way of the world.

And Splinter is treated to some memories of a young Hamato Yoshi defying father and sensei alike at times-- showing rebellious and stubborn traits that remind him of his own sons-- showing the same foolish behavior as his sons--

-- the **same** foolish behavior as his sons!

And Splinter is amused to see other traits of all four of his sons in this vision of his master as a teenager: Leonardo's perfectionism, Raphael's temper, Donatello's inventiveness, and Michelangelo's humor.

And yet his training continued, and he became a Guardian in spite of his clashes with adults and foolish behavior as a teenager.

And Splinter sees that these rebellious and stubborn traits he showed his father and Sensei helped him in the end, when he was defiant to Shredder in the face of death.

And he comes out of his trance with tears streaming down his face and the words of his beloved Master Yoshi whispering in his mind.

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Training and Family-- both never end.

Splinter has no idea how long he has been in trance-- though the stiffness of his legs and back, along with the dimness, indicates that he has been at it since early morning, and it must be now sometime in the early evening.

He gets up and moves stiffly and slowly, and prepares a small meal, and some tea, and after thinking about what has transpired, finally goes to sleep outside of the pipe.

He wakes in the dark to find four turtles sleeping rather close to him, and it startles him for several reasons, most among them the fact that he never heard them arrive.

"Or else I did, subconsciously, and knew there was no threat," he says to himself.

He has little room to move, as they have managed to squeeze in as close as possible-- like they used to in the early days, when one would suffer a nightmare and he'd hear the age-old words: "Can I sleep with you?"

And he would wake up later, after letting in one, to sometimes find all four in bed with him, and no room to move.

He sits in the dark, and yet can make out their features as clear as day.

To the untrained eye, they are indistinguishable, but Splinter is familiar with every subtle difference in their features, and can tell them apart even in the dark, even when they are asleep.

He spends some quiet time just looking at them.

Then he goes back to sleep.

Let them make the first move in the morning, he decides. He will not set the tone.

After all, they came looking for him. It is up to them to set the tone.

They are up before him, making breakfast as quietly as possible-- but he has been awake long before them.

He toys with the idea of keeping them waiting, then remembers the words of Master Yoshi: I I think you acted a little childishly yourself. /i

So he sits up, and doesn't pretend to be surprised.

After all, they aren't stupid.

"Good morning, my sons," he says, and they all smile-- it's the first time since this business began that he has called them "my sons" instead of by their names.

"Good morning, Sensei!" they say in unison, grinning. Then they stop what they are doing and, as one, kneel and bow to their master.

"Please accept our apologies, Sensei, for our behavior," Leo once again says, speaking for all of them.

This time he acknowledges them by kneeling and bowing to them.

"Please accept my apology for my actions and reactions, my sons," he says simply, and they are shocked and make him sit up, protesting that he should not apologize to them! It's unthinkable! They were in the wrong! Etc. etc. etc.

"We will discuss it later, at home," Splinter says, and they eat breakfast together, quietly but happily.

"Well, I assume you were out on a training run, and happened to accidentally find yourselves here with me," he says as breakfast ends, giving them the face-saving "out".

They look at each other, and shake their heads.

"Nope, we were shamelessly looking for our dear old Dad," Raph voices the truth.

"We didn't think we could wait any longer for you to return," Don says.

"We couldn't stand being in the Lair without you," Leo adds.

"And besides, there was nothing good on tv anyway," Mike jokes-- and Splinter is the only one who doesn't looked shocked or upset at what Mike has said.

They spend the rest of the morning cleaning up, packing up, and slowly making their way home.

Don returns the stove to April, then hurries home to be with his family.

That evening, after dinner, they come to some understandings.

Splinter will attempt to not overreact or treat them as if they are little children.

They will attempt to not act childish when he **does** treat them like little children.

Grounding is still an acceptable punishment-- but the reasons must be for more than just what had upset Splinter in the first place.

They all agree that their training is far from over, and that they are not adults yet-- especially Splinter, who admits that he was the one who had jumped to the wrong conclusion through his pique-- and he apologizes to Raphael for his words of earlier.

Raph, of course, accepts this apology by saying Sensei should not be apologizing to **him**.

And he promises to always be their father.

"Even when you are no longer my students, I will always be your father. Even when I am gone, I will always be your father. And you will always be my sons. My sons."

And even Raph is wiping tears away at that statement.

And when he says good night to each of them, he makes sure that he calls each one "my son".

And for some reason, it doesn't surprise him to wake up in the middle of the night to find four turtles sleeping uninvited in his room.

Though he regrets the fact that he can barely move, as they have crowded in so close...


End file.
